Tasman Peninsula - Port Arthur and the cute Tassie Devils

We left Bruny Island well rested and relaxed after our lazy rest day - with Port Arthur in our sights.  We meandered north, through Hobart, and decided to head to Battery Bluff on the eastern shore to capture a different view of Hobart.  Little did we know that Bellerive markets were on - so we dropped in and picked up a few fresh vegies and a delicious fish and chips lunch.

We made our way to Battery Bluff and admired the defences that would have made Hobart a fortress city if they were constructed when they were conceived.  Not for the first time in our history, our isolation proved our best defence, and the fort and battery were really only completed in the late 1800s, just in time for their technology to be superseded.

Battery Bluff, near Bellerive

That lump in the background is Mount Wellington - often covered by cloud!

As is the way in Tassie, it seemed in no time at all we were crossing the canal at Dunalley and entering the Forestier Peninsula.  Then we did what nearly everyone else does in these parts. We followed the brown tourist signs, and all tried to get better photos than the brochures, or our fellow tourists of the amazing natural features of the coastline.

We saw the Tesellated Pavement in the old siltstone.

Then we crossed Eaglehawk Neck and and visited the Blowhole

Tasmania arch was impressive

As was the lookout south towards Devils Kitchen.  Of course I am no photographer, and I conceded defeat at the Devils Kitchen.  In fact there is no way to describe how it feels to be standing on the edge of the cliffs, listening to the heave and crash of the ocean far below.  It is humbling and exciting all at the same time

Port Arthur

We stayed overnight in a caravan park, after trying our luck at Fortesque Bay.   We packed up early and made our way to the former convict settlement of Port Arthur.  I think it is the sort of place that reveals new secrets to you on every visit.

I really enjoyed reading the personal accounts of the convicts and the attempts to bring the stories of the people behind the ruins to life.  

It seems history is littered with stories where best intentioned plans ended in failure. I came away unexpectedly saddened by many of the stories told around the complex.  It is beautiful, and in a way the great bush fires of the 1890's added a poignancy to the place that could not have happened should it all still be as it was.

It is beautiful, sad, yet it also stands as a monument to what can be achieved when a goal is set and a workforce assembled.  The millions of bricks, tonnes of quarried rock all shifted by hand still stands silent and proud.  It is a place all Australians should visit.

The former penitentiary with the ruins of the hospital on the hill to the right.

Port Arthur, originally lined with timber wharves is hauntingly beautiful.

The view from the old guard house

A more recent addition - sometime after the great fires in the 1890's

Contemplating their lot in the Solitary Prison, a very sad part of the site.

The ruins of the church. It would have been magnificent.

Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park.

On our way north again, we stopped at the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park.  This park is an integral part of.a program to help save Tasmanian Devils.  The devils are under threat from a deadly facial tumor, and as yet, the Tasmanian Peninsular is disease free.  This makes the work here even more important.  

The boys loved the feeding of the devils, and then our guide Cameron gave us a talk on some of the birds they had rescued.

 The Devils were particularly active on our visit, amusing the kids with their squabbles and play.

After feeding the Devils, Cameron invited everyone back for a talk on birds, and this was an unexpected surprise.  We got up close and personal with a beautiful Frogmouth, who had been rescued as a chick with a broken wing.

Hamish was chosen to hold the perch of the Frogmouth

Cameron giving his talk

That night we free camped behind the Dunalley Hotel.  We enjoyed dessert in the pub, which has an interesting collage of photos from the fires that devestated the community just 12 months ago.  We took a moment as the sunset to reflect on a busy few days and started thinking of where we would head next.  East coast or return to the west?  As it turned out, events the next day were to change our plans...